


. : Darakht : .

by isabeau



Category: Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Genre: Gen, Kinda old fic (pre-2005)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-01-01
Updated: 2005-01-01
Packaged: 2017-10-18 07:37:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/186502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/isabeau/pseuds/isabeau
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Young Obi-Wan goes on a field trip, and gets into trouble.</p>
            </blockquote>





	. : Darakht : .

/This is not,/ Obi-Wan tried to remind himself, using a mental echo of  
a Proper Jedi Master's voice, /proper behaviour for a Jedi./ He knew  
it wasn't. Jedi didn't bounce, didn't grin widely, didn't giggle at  
themselves. Jedi were like Master Qui-Gon, or Master Windu, solemn  
and serene and unflappable. But he _couldn't_ be like that, not right  
now.

Some of the other initiates were pretending that this was a Real  
Mission, that the fate of the galaxy rested in their actions. Really,  
though, it was just a field trip, a place outside of the Temple where  
the Force was strong. Strong enough to tickle, almost, and certainly  
enough to make Obi-Wan happy.

There were several Adults along on the trip, three Knights and a  
Master, to instruct the initiates and make sure they didn't get too  
far into trouble. Obi-Wan knew that he really should sit still and be  
quiet and try to impress one of the Adults. Sure, this field trip was  
just what they called an Educational Experience, and anyway he wasn't  
nearly old enough to be a Padawan. But everyone knew that you had to  
get a Master or a Knight to like you, before you were chosen. And  
Obi-Wan really, really wanted to be a Padawan.

Still, he couldn't help having a slight bounce in his step. This  
place was _fun_. And more than that, not only did he like the Master,  
but the Master liked him. That was good. Master Qui-Gon was supposed  
to be a really good Jedi, and a really good Master. Suddenly, being a  
Padawan didn't seem so far off. /If I'm good, and don't get into  
trouble, and do everything Master Qui-Gon says, maybe I can be a  
Padawan soon. Maybe I can be _his_ Padawan./

Grinning, Obi-Wan scrambled up a ridge. It had rained recently, and  
the ground was muddy and slippery, but he didn't care. This planet--  
Darakht, Master Qui-Gon had called it-- was a lot prettier than what  
Obi-Wan was used to. The Temple was mostly metals and hard, cold,  
Forceless materials. The gardens helped but they were few and not  
really Real. This place, though...

Vibrant colors stretched everywhere. The soil was a beautiful deep  
blue, like the Coruscant sky after sunset but before true night. A  
soft furry plant, low but just about everywhere, lay like purple fuzz  
over the landscape. Trees stretched up to a clear sky, red trunks  
spreading into yellowed leaves. And everywhere there were animals,  
small furry creatures that leapt among the trees, felines that watched  
Obi-Wan with careful glowing eyes, hovering insects with magical  
multicolored wings, and large birds that soared high in the sky. The  
Force thrummed through it all, making Obi-Wan feel like he could fly.

He wasn't stupid enough to try-- even if floating on the Force counted  
as flying, he didn't have enough control to really do it-- but he did  
the next best thing. Arms out, letting his sleeves billow and flutter  
like wings, he ran as fast as he could down the hill. Halfway down,  
he slipped on a slick patch of mud and tumbled; but the purple fuzz  
was soft, and the mud was smooth, and he laughed going down.

Life was good. Very, very good.

He wasn't really supposed to go off on his own-- but the group was  
right behind that ridge. He wouldn't go that far away. If he got  
into trouble, he had a small comm unit in his belt pouch, but he  
wouldn't get into trouble. He was far too happy to get into trouble.  
Gleefully, Obi-Wan tackled a passing feline. It escaped with a streak  
of blue mud down its back where Obi-Wan's hand passed. Obi-Wan  
squealed and followed it, zigzagging through the trees. When his  
'prey' went out of sight, he found another one, a pink-furred  
six-legged creature with large eyes that ran like the wind in front of  
him.

It wasn't until the sun was almost down that he realized he was lost.

At first, it was just a nagging sensation at the back of his head, but  
by the time the large sun was a shimmering and slightly lopsided part  
of the horizon, Obi-Wan knew that he had no clue even which direction  
the camp was in, or how far, or anything.

He also knew that when he got back, Master Qui-Gon was going to kill  
him. This certainly didn't count as staying out of trouble. At any  
rate, he wouldn't be allowed to leave the Temple for the next twenty  
years.

Frowning, almost pouting, Obi-Wan picked a direction and started off.  
He had to act like he knew what he was doing. Maybe that way he  
wouldn't get in _too_ much trouble. But nothing was looking familiar,  
and the sky was getting darker. For all he knew, he was going in the  
exact wrong direction.

Something, somewhere, howled, a long and drawn-out sound that made  
Obi-Wan shiver. What if he never got back? What if the Adults,  
deciding that Obi-Wan didn't want to go home-- or, worse, deciding  
that Obi-Wan didn't _deserve_ to go back-- left without him? What if  
he'd be alone the rest of his life, or until he got eaten by some  
night beast with big drooling teeth?

Sudden terror gripped him. Almost too scared to cry, he scrabbled for  
the comm unit. "Master Qui-Gon?" Static. "Knight Ell-kalil?"  
Static. "Somebody? Anybody?" He sniffled and tried to keep his  
lower lip from jutting out. "I'm lost and I need help, please  
answer?"

Static, and a glop of blue mud dripped out of the comm unit.

The tears brimming in Obi-Wan's eyes spilled out and down his cheek.  
Desperately, he reached out with the Force. He didn't have a bond  
with anyone, but maybe they could sense him. He didn't know how to  
send words, but he sent his desperation and a feeling of intense  
lostness. /Please hear me,/ he thought, biting his lip. /Please let  
me not be too far away./

Through the Force, a feeling of concern washed over him, followed by  
reassurance, and what felt like a wordless promise that someone would  
come. Obi-Wan sniffled, wiped his face with a muddy sleeve, and tried  
to send back shy thanks.

There was a tree nearby, large and spreading, with a thick smooth  
trunk and branches that spread out above like welcoming arms. Obi-Wan  
curled up against the tree, one hand flat on the trunk. Logically, a  
tree couldn't really protect him, but he felt safer there. The tree  
was strong and sturdy, an unchanging presence.

Like Master Qui-Gon, he realized sleepily, and smiled.

Darakht's twin moons rose, casting a silvered glow over everything.  
Obi-Wan half-dozed, waiting; and then Master Qui-Gon was there,  
backlit by moonlight, and Obi-Wan scrambled up and into his arms.

"Obi-Wan! Are you all right?" Qui-Gon asked.

Obi-Wan burrowed his face into Qui-Gon's robes and nodded. "Yeah.  
M'fine. Just..." He swallowed and blinked back a threatening tear.  
/Jedi tell the truth,/ he reminded himself. /There is no pride./  
"...scared," he finished, and waited for a lecture.

"You should not have wandered this far," Qui-Gon said, "not without  
knowing your way back, and certainly not alone."

"But it was...well, it was pretty," Obi-Wan mumbled, realizing that it  
was a stupid excuse.

"Still. You should know better, especially in an unknown place."  
Master Qui-Gon's stern expression melted into a softer smile. "It's  
all right to be scared, though."

Obi-Wan sniffled and unburied his face from the Master's robe. "It's  
not un-Jedilike?"

"All of us get scared, at some point or another." With a gentle  
finger, Qui-Gon brushed away the tears streaking Obi-Wan's face. "You  
just learn to go on anyway, and do what you need to do."

"Oh." Obi-Wan thought on that for a while, and then filed it away in  
his mind as Something To Understand When He Was Older. He couldn't  
think of Master Qui-Gon as being scared. Master Qui-Gon...just was.  
"My tree," he murmured, snuggling against the larger Jedi.

He could feel the Master's smile. "Do you have any objections to  
going back to camp, initiate?"

"No." Obi-Wan held up a hand, examining it. The mud looked black in  
the moonlight. "And I need a bath."

Master Qui-Gon's laugh vibrated against him, like the stir of wind in  
a tree, and Obi-Wan smiled, content.  



End file.
